Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan Review at the Galway International Arts Festival.

An Taibhdhearc and Company SJ's performance of Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan has opened as part of the Galway International Arts Festival, and although Beckett words translate beautifully to Irish, the play struggles to keep its audience engaged.

⭐⭐

An Taibhdhearc and Company SJ's Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan

Beckett has always been a quite divisive character in relation to theatre. People either love it or hate it! I would be more on the loving side, even opting to take a Beckett module in college. His sentence structure, repetition and hidden meaning always stood out to me. So when An Taibhdhearc and Company SJ were translating some of his works (Footfalls, Not I, Rockaby and Fizzle 4) into Irish and would be staging it as part of this year's festival, it felt like this was a show I shouldn't miss.

Unfortunately, what looks incredible on paper sometimes struggles with its delivery. And Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan comes into difficulty in a number of ways.

What is An Taibhdhearc and Company SJ's Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan?

The purpose of this production is The Women's Voice, using pieces where Beckett has written from the perspectives of women. This is further tied into nature, as expressed by the director, Sarah Jane Scaife in the programme, having built an engagement with the island of Inis Óirr.  Projections of the island are used throughout, depicting two women in long red dresses and shawls working, as transitions between Beckett's pieces. This is ultimately where this production falls short.

The play itself is fragmented and blurred, as the elements are not connected in any way, aside from being spoken from women. Little time is given to world building, as the majority of the performance is taken up by videos of the island in long, drawn out transitions, which bring down the pace. Some scenes are spoken using a handheld mic, which almost pulls you out of the piece completely. Although Not I (performed beautifully by Caitríona Ní Mhurchú, who fully captured the franticness of the Mouth) Rockaby (with a strong performance from Nuala Hayes) and Footfalls (another strong performance by Fiona Lucia McGarry) all display the beauty of the Irish language independently, they do not work together. What would be an incredible art installation, using the projections and voice overs in a gallery setting, ultimately does not communicate well to the stage, leaving the audience with the question: why?

Is An Taibhdhearc and Company SJ's Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan Worth Seeing?

I must admit that I am perhaps not the target audience of this piece, and with art being subjective, every audience member will find something interesting or thought provoking in this performance. The cast do a wonderful job of delivering some incredible translations of Beckett's work. I also have to commend An Taibhdhearc for providing headsets for non Irish speakers.

As An Taibhdhearc approaches its 100th year and as the cultural resurgence of the Irish language thankfully occurs due to TikTok and the work Gaeilgeoirí have been doing around the country, one might ask, is there not a modern play, as gaeilge, written by a woman, that would have been a stronger choice for this year’s festival? Where are the stories of young people?

Ticket Information and Show Times for An Taibhdhearc and Company SJ's Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan.

Beckett Sa Chreig: Guth Na mBan runs until the 19th of July at An Taibhdhearc. Show time is at 8PM. Tickets can be purchased by calling the box office on 091 566 577, visiting the Festival Box Office on Eyre Square or through their website.

Location:  An Taibhdhearc, Galway

Date of Review: 16th of July

Star Rating: ⭐ ⭐

Disclaimer: I was invited to review this show as part of the Festival on July 16th, 2025. All views are my own and were not influenced by the invite.